Higher Weight, Lower Education: A Longitudinal Association Between Adolescents' Body Mass Index and Their Subsequent Educational Achievement Level?

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to examine the association between adolescents' body mass index (BMI) z‐scores and their subsequent level of schooling, extending previous longitudinal research by using objectively measured weight and height data. METHODS A longitudinal study with 3 study waves (1‐year intervals) involving 1248 Dutch adolescents (49% girls; mean age = 13.7 years) at schools providing different educational levels was used to determine adolescents who moved and did not move to a lower educational level in the first year, or in the second year, and to examine whether this movement could be predicted by BMI z‐scores (zBMI), after controlling for a large range of potential confounding factors. RESULTS A total of 1164 Dutch adolescents continued in the same level of education, whereas 84 adolescents moved to a lower educational level (43 moved in the first and 41 in the second year). A higher zBMI significantly increased the risk of a general transition to a lower educational level, and of a transition in the first year, but not in the second year, after controlling for potential demographic, behavioral, and psychological confounds. CONCLUSIONS Findings suggest that a higher zBMI during adolescence immediately lowers educational achievement level during general secondary education.